A lady came in this week with longstanding migraines--on and off for five years. And the migraine she had the day she came into the office had been present for over 2 weeks straight despite several heavy duty migraine medications.
I asked about what makes the migraines worse, and she stated that when she eats a banana, she gets a migraine. Banana is a known cross reaction for people with a latex allergy. She had not noticed a latex allergy before but she does not work with medical gloves or any obvious latex where people would usually notice such an allergy. We tested latex allergy and she was positive. Other sensitivities to a few food and environmental items also came up on testing.
Towards the end of the visit I asked if she had noticed any more migraines around Christmas time or near pointsetta plants. Then she revealed that she grows pointsetta plants year round and has some right now in her home (In June)! They are in bloom and one of them is stationed in front of the air intake vent for their airconditioning system.
Here is an article about latex allergy and pointsettas from: Georgia Regents University
http://news.georgiahealth.edu/archives/137
Anyone with a known latex allergy or who gets reactions from bananas should consider avoiding pointsetta plants....or at least trying to notice if they feel worse around them. Also consider getting the allergy treated with an accupressure technique called NAET that I do in my office. Call 360-573-2273 for more info.
